Units subordinated to 12th Army Corps
The newly established 12th Army Corps (12-й армійський корпус) has effectively disclosed its composition. In recent days, the unit’s official Facebook page has become notably active, frequently tagging various Ukrainian defense force units in its posts. For context, the formation of the 12th Army Corps was first announced in March 2025, with MilitaryLand being the first outlet to report on its creation.
It’s common for parent units to highlight subordinate units in their communications, typically to acknowledge their activities or achievements. What makes the 12th Army Corps’ apparent composition particularly noteworthy is its inclusion of units from four different branches of the Ukrainian defense forces: the Ground Forces, the Territorial Defense Forces, Border Guards and the National Guard. The involvement of the National Guard and Border Guards are especially intriguing, as they fall under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, unlike the Ground Forces and Territorial Defense Forces, which operate under the Ministry of Defense.
The 12th Army Corps appears to be built upon the foundation of the Defense Grouping of Kyiv, which has been responsible for the defense of Ukraine’s capital. The corps brings together military formations from Kyiv Oblast and neighboring regions.
The Structure
As noted earlier, the structure of the 12th Army Corps is particularly noteworthy. Based on information shared through the unit’s official social media channels, the corps includes the following formations:
Although it may seem unusual to see National Guard units grouped alongside those from the Ground Forces and Territorial Defense, a recent visit by 12th Army Corps personnel to the Hetmanate Museum suggests otherwise. Servicemen from the Presidential Brigade, various Territorial Defense units, and National Guard units were all in attendance, reflecting the corps’ diverse composition.
“Servicemen of the subordinate military units of the 12th Army Corps visited the Hetmanate Museum to gain a deeper understanding of the legacy of the Cossack era. Located in the heart of Podil, the museum preserves unique exhibits that reflect the traditions, military glory, and spiritual strength of Hetmanate Ukraine,” the post says. Additionally, the 12th Army Corps organized a chess tournament to celebrate the Day of Infantry on May 6, 2025, where soldiers from the mentioned units were also present.
According to an official social media post, the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration and the commander of the 12th Army Corps visited soldiers of the 112th Territorial Defense Brigade along with subordinated Border Guard units. The post implies that certain Border Guard units may fall under the 12th Army Corps—either directly or through integration with Territorial Defense units within the Corps.
We reached out to the 12th Army Corps for an official comment on this matter and received a response stating that the information is currently classified and, as such, no further details can be provided at this time.
On May 8, 2025, the commander of the 12th Army Corps was identified as Colonel Pavlo Protsiuk, following the publication of a gift certificate obtained by MilitaryLand.
If you enjoy this content, the best way to support our site is by sharing it and following us on X, Bluesky and Facebook.
related posts |
Our community |
Mentioned Units |
Support us |
It was also said that the corps will have clear defense sectors that can increase and decrease, but no one will be able to transfer a corps from one direction to another, except for those that are created for an offensive and for extinguishing fires. The full front line now has 3200 km, active 1300 km.
The active section, as was said, will be covered by corps with 5 brigades in each, as well as offensive corps. Corps such as 12 will be responsible for inactive sections, which will actually coordinate all defense forces in the region, and not just near the border.
From the units mentioned on Facebook, we can conclude that such corps will not have their own brigades (or they will be on a rotational basis, as they will definitely participate in battles in other directions), but will have replaceable subordinate units and will be able to receive reinforcements from mechanized brigades in the event of an escalation.
Most likely, such corps will have their own support units. Accordingly, on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, as well as in Chernihiv, Sumy (partially), Mykolaiv and Odessa regions, will be created according to the sample of 12 corps. P.S. We will see how it will be implemented by the end of the year.
Almost all the units are garrisoned in or around Kyiv. Only the 120th Territorial Defence Brigade from Vinnytsia Oblast is from the Directorate of Territorial Defence ‘South’, but Vinnytsia still borders Kyiv Oblast.
This controversial move looks like they just pushed extra “Kyiv” units into one corps based on the strong Presidential Brigade, not knowing what else to do. Without a full reorganization of the National Guard and Territorial Defense into the Ground Forces, this corps will be just like the disorganized “temporary groups” they want to get rid of.
Btw, I didn’t see a single Border Guards unit mentioned. Was that a mistake?
It is mentioned in the article that there’s reference of Border Guard units here:
https://www.facebook.com/12armycorps/posts/pfbid0e7KwpX68CDKM8NzpeXPCR4HjXBnNKfqUCtDa1gbneJ8L1RE986MMDson9BoKmyYUl
The corps in the National Guard and Air Assault Forces look incredibly strong—if they actually get their own area of responsibility and aren’t just scattered across the front line like before. But the Ground Forces, as usual, were disappointing. That’s not surprising, given their size, but the example of the 12th Corps looks objectively terrible.